Historic Lancaster Offers a Peak into Hollywood's Past

It's hard to believe that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the movie Witness, a film that contrasted the violent modern world See, Playing Chess in Russia - The Agony of Victory , Retirees Find House Sitting Opens the Door to a New with that of the peaceful Amish... "A big city also related, Sir Francis Drake , Siena, Italy - Medieval Life and Horse Racing cop. A small country See, Presenting: Calgary - Canada's Heart of the New West , The Singapore Taxi boy. They have nothing in common...but a murder."

Since then millions of people have watched Witness, which gained worldwide popularity due to its marketing as a romantic thriller and because it featured Harrison Ford, fresh from his starring roles in Indiana Jones and Star Wars. For many people, it was an introduction to the Amish culture, check out, Singapore Guide , Kenya: The True Safari Country and a locale and people foreign to most people's perceptions of America. You may also consider, The Affordable & Comfortable Tropical Cancun Honeymoon Checklist , Sir Francis Drake

Now, in honor of the film's 20th anniversary, visitors also related, 5 Golden Rules for a Great Holiday , Turn Your Travel Adventures Into Lasting Memories to the picturesque Lancaster, Pennsylvania countryside can learn more about the peaceful world You may also consider, Holiday Travel Packages , Siena, Italy - Medieval Life and Horse Racing of the Amish while visiting Witness filming locations See, Kilimanjaro Treks - Machame Route , Featuring Eurpide, Ancient Greek Drama in Syracuse on the Witness Movie Experience Tour, Try also, Camping Check Off List , Sir Francis Drake a 3-hour guided motorcoach tour view, Tips for Long Distance Round the World Flights , Luau Party Supplies which runs through November 21st. The tour Try also, 10 Hot Places in NYC to Find Sneakers for the Summer , Planning your Own Gorilla Safari Will Save You Money - Here's How allows visitors, goto, Indianapolis, Indiana, Find Enchanting Underwater Worlds & The Unexpected At The Indianapolis Zoo , Some Tips For African Safari Newbies for the first time ever, a behind-the-scenes look at the farm featured in the film, while learning about the people who made Witness such an intriguing tale.

The Witness Movie Experience Tour You may also consider, The Singapore Taxi , Siena, Italy - Medieval Life and Horse Racing is the latest in a worldwide movie tourism trend. In London, Try also, Presenting: Calgary - Canada's Heart of the New West , Tips for Saving Money on Food At Walt Disney World-Orlando for example, visitors check out, Beach and Spoke Vacations , Come Visit Bombay, And You'll Be Hooked can see the sites of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason; Philadelphia is the location also related, Asia Cruises: A Journey in the Exotic World , South Pacific Island in the Caribbean Sea of National Treasure movie tours, Try also, Plan Your Best Orlando Vacation Yet: How Vacation Rentals By Owner Give You More And Help You Save $ , Italy Ski Resorts and New Zealand, the home of The Lord of the Rings' Middle Earth.

Unlike these recent films, however, two decades may have passed since you've seen Witness, so let me refresh your memory: the movie opens with the funeral of the husband of Rachel Lapp (Kelly McGillis), who soon takes her son, Samuel, with her on a train trip goto, Finding your dream home in France - Part 1 , Buying & Renting a Holiday Home in the Sun to visit You may also consider, Singapore Guide , The Singapore Taxi her sister. The drama begins when Samuel, on his first trip view, Cheap Car Hire In Spain , Singapore Guide to the "outside world", witnesses a murder in Philadelphia's 30th Street also related, Asia Cruises: A Journey in the Exotic World , Featuring Eurpide, Ancient Greek Drama in Syracuse Station.

Policeman John Book (Harrison Ford), takes the boy and his mother, Rachel, to the police station for questioning. When the boy recognizes the murderer in some newspaper clippings in the police station's trophy case, Book realizes the three murderers are cops. Wounded in an attack, Book flees with Rachel and her son to the Lapp farm in Lancaster, where the Amish elders allow Book to recuperate, unaware that the murderers are looking for him.

In real life, the Lapp's 82-acre farm (twice as large as most Amish farms) is the home of an Amish family, and still looks just as it did during the filming of Witness, with a few exceptions: the Purple Martin bird house has been replaced with a replica, the farmhouse windows now have shutters, and a new cow barn was built in 2001 to accommodate 60 cows, whose milk is turned into Land of Lakes also related, Plan Your Best Orlando Vacation Yet: How Vacation Rentals By Owner Give You More And Help You Save $ , Royal Visit Boost For Holiday Island butter.

Nevertheless, the farmhouse's porch swing still catches the golden afternoon sunlight as it did during the filming of Witness, and if you stand still for a moment, it's easy to imagine Alexander Godunov (Rachel's Amish suitor, Daniel Hochleitner) and Kelly McGillis sipping lemonade as they swing upon it in awkward silence.

The farmhouse itself is off limits, but visitors Try also, Kenya: The True Safari Country , Featuring Eurpide, Ancient Greek Drama in Syracuse will see the summer You may also consider, Taj Mahal -- the Monument of Eternal Love , Why you should get a caravan awning kitchen, where grandfather lectures Samuel on violence and the value of life after the boy discovers Book's gun in a drawer. Also, visitors check out, South Pacific Island in the Caribbean Sea , Siena, Italy - Medieval Life and Horse Racing will venture inside the barn, where the widowed Rachel dances with Book as they discover a mutual romantic attraction goto, Luau Party Supplies , Kenya: The True Safari Country which raises serious concern within the Amish community.

To give visitors See, Planning your Own Gorilla Safari Will Save You Money - Here's How , Tourism in the United Kingdom an in-depth look at the Amish way of life, the Witness Movie Experience Tour You may also consider, Ireland Features , Luau Party Supplies begins in historic check out, Asia Cruises: A Journey in the Exotic World , London Travel - Everything you need to know about London...from eating out to staying in. downtown Lancaster at the Lancaster Cultural History Museum, where three floors are dedicated to "Witness to Witness: The Exhibit." The ground floor gives a background on the Amish people, their history, and the culture See, 10 Hot Places in NYC to Find Sneakers for the Summer , Eating Smartly On Your Round The World Trip of the local See, The Perfect Vacation - Top 5 things to know for planning a W , Plan Your Best Orlando Vacation Yet: How Vacation Rentals By Owner Give You More And Help You Save $ Amish community.

The museum's second floor contains Witness memorabilia, including four of Kelly McGillis' costumes from the movie, props from famous scenes such as Kelly McGillis' blue agateware pot from the kitchen See, The Singapore Taxi , Living Like A Native In Morelia, Mexico of the farmhouse, as well as dozens of international Witness movie posters.

The exhibit's third floor features a replica of a typical Pennsylvania-German Bank Barn, similar to the one built in the movie's spectacular barn-raising scene in which Book puts his carpentry skill to use -- a skill that is Harrison Ford's real-life talent. The barn-raising movie scene, in fact, is no Hollywood fantasy, but a realistic depiction of how the Amish actually live - with a strong degree of commitment to their neighbors and community.

This degree of commitment is also evident later in the movie when the bad guys trace Book to Rachel's home. Book uses violence to defend himself, but it is the Amish that save the day when they use non-violence in the form of their sheer numbers and presence to end the killing.

From the museum, the tour You may also consider, Taj Mahal -- the Monument of Eternal Love , Sir Francis Drake moves to other downtown Lancaster Witness filming locations, view, Ireland Features , Presenting: Calgary - Canada's Heart of the New West such as the Lancaster County Courthouse parking garage, used in the scene where John Book was shot, and W.L. Zimmerman and Sons Grocery & Hardware's front porch, from where John Book placed his phone calls to the city. Try also, Tips for Saving Money on Food At Walt Disney World-Orlando , Tips for Saving Money on Food At Walt Disney World-Orlando

Finally, after a visit Try also, Tourism in the United Kingdom , Playing Chess in Russia - The Agony of Victory to the Witness farm, the tour goto, Luau Party Supplies , Don't Worry, Go Traveling takes visitors view, Don't Worry, Go Traveling , Disney Land and Disney World through the tranquil Lancaster County countryside, where the guide You may also consider, Review of the Motorola Razr v3c by an Everyday User , Indianapolis, Indiana, Find Enchanting Underwater Worlds & The Unexpected At The Indianapolis Zoo talks about the differences between the Amish culture goto, The Perfect Vacation - Top 5 things to know for planning a W , Planning your Own Gorilla Safari Will Save You Money - Here's How and ours, reminding us of grandfather's parting advice to Book, "You be careful out among them English. Try also, Singapore Guide , Derwent Water: Jewel Of England's Lake District "

There's a lot to see and do in Lancaster, but if you have the time, the Witness Movie Experience Tour view, The Perfect Vacation - Top 5 things to know for planning a W , Planning your Own Gorilla Safari Will Save You Money - Here's How is well worth it. It commemorates a film which points out that people of different cultures goto, All Inclusive vacation specials are on the rise! With Intern , Planning your Own Gorilla Safari Will Save You Money - Here's How can meet and be enriched by their interaction, without having to change each other's way of life. Perhaps if enough people realize this, the world See, Living Like A Native In Morelia, Mexico , Don't Worry, Go Traveling will become a less violent place, view, Come Visit Bombay, And You'll Be Hooked , London Travel - Everything you need to know about London...from eating out to staying in. and grandfather's parting advice won't be necessary.

If you go:
The Witness Movie Experience Tour See, Presenting: Calgary - Canada's Heart of the New West , Kilimanjaro Treks - Machame Route is available Mondays, Fridays & Saturdays, April 1- November 21, 2005 only. Reservations See, Come Visit Bombay, And You'll Be Hooked , Playing Chess in Russia - The Agony of Victory must be made. Cost of the tour also related, Playing Chess in Russia - The Agony of Victory , Featuring Eurpide, Ancient Greek Drama in Syracuse is $29.95 for adults and $19.95 for children 4 to 12. For tickets goto, Presenting: Calgary - Canada's Heart of the New West , Tips for Saving Money on Food At Walt Disney World-Orlando and information, call the PA Dutch Convention & Visitors See, On Safari in South Africa - Where Africa's Wildlife Never Disappoints , Tips for Long Distance Round the World Flights Bureau at 1-800-723-8824, and press 1, or visit Try also, Review of the Motorola Razr v3c by an Everyday User , Luau Party Supplies www.padutchcountry.com.

Travel writer Melody Moser's articles and photos have appeared in publications such as The Orlando Sentinel, The AAA Touch, Arabella Romances Magazine, Connecting Solo Travel goto, The Singapore Taxi , The Perfect Vacation - Top 5 things to know for planning a W News, The Globe, and GoNomad.com; she also writes regularly for The Tourist You may also consider, Eating Smartly On Your Round The World Trip , Come Visit Bombay, And You'll Be Hooked News, a supplement to The Miami Herald. She can be reached through her travel You may also consider, Holiday Packages , Asia Cruises: A Journey in the Exotic World blog at http://www.traveldreamsite.blogs.com/.

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